2008 Woodie Awards
IFS: 'The Lives of Others' explores the relationships we don't know exsist
Gabriel Guerrero
Issue date: 10/26/07 Section: Entertainment
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If someone was listening to every syllable you uttered, what would you say?
In an attic surrounded by surveillance equipment sitting quietly on a chair is a man. His name is Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muehe) and he is a captain in the infamous Stasi, the secret police of East Germany. On his ears are nestled a pair of headphones, and beneath the floorboards in the apartment below is the subject of his investigation, Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), the playwright and author. Wiesler lives vicariously through the lives of his subjects who are unaware of his presence. The Stasi captain listens as they laugh, argue and make love.
It is appropriately the year 1984 and the wall between the east and west stands tall.
In the film "The Lives of Others" writer and director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck details a relationship between two men who never utter a word to one another, never share a meal and never meet face to face.
Dreyman is a socialist, loyal to a country that distrusts the genuineness of his obedience. This distrust is manifested by the Stasi's decision to bug his apartment and place him under constant surveillance.
Meanwhile, Wiesler is a man filled to the point of spilling with paranoia that grips his person so tightly that throughout the film a wall stands not only between the subjects of his surveillance, but any person who Wiesler comes in contact with.
As the Stasi captain has been taught, he shows little to no emotion at times to the extent that I found myself asking him to blink just once so that I knew he was alive.
The only moment of voiced compassion from the Stasi captain is illustrated in a conversation with Dreyman's girlfriend and actress, Christa-Maria (Martina Gedeck).
This is easily one of the best films of 2006, a claim cemented by solid acting and an amazing script.
Astonishingly, this is Donnersmarck's first feature- length and it is a masterpiece.
The film explores topics of compassion, betrayal and loyalty in the years preceding the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The characters are well developed and their portrayal by the members of the cast is effortless and precise.
With all of the aspects of this film, which were executed with grace and precision, it is no wonder that "The Lives of Others" won the best foreign-language film Oscar in 2006.
- Gabriel Guerrero is a senior English major and The Mirror's IFS columnist.
In an attic surrounded by surveillance equipment sitting quietly on a chair is a man. His name is Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muehe) and he is a captain in the infamous Stasi, the secret police of East Germany. On his ears are nestled a pair of headphones, and beneath the floorboards in the apartment below is the subject of his investigation, Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), the playwright and author. Wiesler lives vicariously through the lives of his subjects who are unaware of his presence. The Stasi captain listens as they laugh, argue and make love.
It is appropriately the year 1984 and the wall between the east and west stands tall.
In the film "The Lives of Others" writer and director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck details a relationship between two men who never utter a word to one another, never share a meal and never meet face to face.
Dreyman is a socialist, loyal to a country that distrusts the genuineness of his obedience. This distrust is manifested by the Stasi's decision to bug his apartment and place him under constant surveillance.
Meanwhile, Wiesler is a man filled to the point of spilling with paranoia that grips his person so tightly that throughout the film a wall stands not only between the subjects of his surveillance, but any person who Wiesler comes in contact with.
As the Stasi captain has been taught, he shows little to no emotion at times to the extent that I found myself asking him to blink just once so that I knew he was alive.
The only moment of voiced compassion from the Stasi captain is illustrated in a conversation with Dreyman's girlfriend and actress, Christa-Maria (Martina Gedeck).
This is easily one of the best films of 2006, a claim cemented by solid acting and an amazing script.
Astonishingly, this is Donnersmarck's first feature- length and it is a masterpiece.
The film explores topics of compassion, betrayal and loyalty in the years preceding the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The characters are well developed and their portrayal by the members of the cast is effortless and precise.
With all of the aspects of this film, which were executed with grace and precision, it is no wonder that "The Lives of Others" won the best foreign-language film Oscar in 2006.
- Gabriel Guerrero is a senior English major and The Mirror's IFS columnist.
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